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Marketing and Location Intelligence

3 Ways Brick-and-Mortar Stores Are Using Location Intelligence

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Many brick-and-mortar stores suffered financial losses in recent years due to the ease and efficiency of online shopping. While some businesses view the rise of online shopping as the ultimate enemy, innovative businesses are using the shift in consumer shopping habits as an opportunity to develop new and exciting incentives for driving traffic into their stores.

Omnichannel marketing is a powerful way for brick-and-mortar businesses to leverage multiple marketing channels to drive greater brand awareness, in-store traffic, and sales. Location based insights are at the core of this, helping businesses illustrate their unique value proposition and provide fun and fresh ways for customers to engage with their brand.

Here’s how successful brick-and-mortar stores drive foot traffic and generate sales using location intelligence:

Leverage Geofencing:

  • Gain competitive insights: Conduct trade area analysis by placing geofences around competitors to reveal how often your customers visit them. You can pair this with tracking competitor deals and incentives to gain knowledge on how to steer customers back to you…or keep them from visiting competitors in the first place.
  • In-store incentives: If your customers allow notifications, you can deliver limited time pop-up ads every time they are within a certain distance from your store, or an extra deal when they are about to leave your store.  Input customer data: Location intelligence platforms allow you to input customer information, useful for developing targeted marketing campaigns. This includes precise mailing addresses and detailed demographic information.

Precise direct mail campaigns:

Studies show that direct mail ROI is strong when marketers use omnichannel marketing methods to deliver a seamless and personalized customer experience to match lifestyles with customer buying trends. Pairing digital intelligence with direct mail can produce powerful results. Location technology delivers detailed demographic information along with accurate postal codes so that you are delivering the right message to the right people rather than wasting time and money on consumers that are unlikely to be interested in your product or service.

Location-based insights for site selection:

For brick and-mortar stores looking to open a new shop or to relocate, location intelligence platforms provide essential information on ideal locations. This includes demographic data, a historic view of how an area has changed over time, new developments, nearby points of interest, and much more.

Using location technology and the powerful insights it provides helps businesses integrate marketing channels for an omnichannel marketing approach. This leads to precise messaging and a highly compelling customer-centric experience that will have customers regularly engaging with your business on and offline.

To learn more download our guide Using Location Based Insights for Omnichannel Marketing

Additional Reading:  

5 Ways Canadian Retailers Should Be Using Location Data and Technology

Marketing Location tools

3 Location Tools Every Digital Marketer Should Be Using

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Even the most skilled digital marketers tend to struggle in one key area: knowing what their customers are doing offline, and how to use those offline behaviours to develop effective marketing strategies. Offline behaviours are the marketing touchpoints that consumers don’t actually physically engage with, such as seeing an advertisement on TV or a sign in a window when walking past a store.

Location technology offers unique insights into the complex customer journey. Customers do not operate in silos, and marketing shouldn’t either. A buyer has multiple potential touchpoints, and effective marketing requires understanding online and offline behaviours in order to optimize strategies. Marketers using location tools are able to view data on how customers react to various forms of marketing based on their physical locations. By tracking certain customer behaviours, marketers gain the ability to offer stronger and more effective experiences for customers.

Whether customers are shopping online or in a brick-and-mortar store, here are the top 3 location intelligence tools digital marketers should be using to develop a strong end-to-end customer journey.

1. Geotargeting

What is Geotargeting?

Geotargeting is a location intelligence tool used to deliver the most relevant content to people based on their location.
Even the most skilled digital marketers tend to struggle in one key area: knowing what their customers are doing offline, and how to use those offline behaviours to develop effective marketing strategies. Offline behaviours are the marketing touchpoints that consumers don’t actually physically engage with, such as seeing an advertisement on TV or a sign in a window when walking past a store.

How to Use Geotargeting

Geotargeting is effective because it allows you to create marketing strategies that connect with customers on their terms. You get the big picture view of customer locations so that you can communicate in a way that is personal and meaningful. This includes mobile notifications, targeted digital ads, email and much more. Geotargeting allows you to get very specific about who you are marketing to, and how location could play into purchasing decisions. Using geotargeting over a period of time allows you to gather data on customer behaviours for a deeper contextual understanding of what sort of messaging is most effective.

2.  Geofencing

What is Geofencing?

Marketers use GPS or radio frequency (RFID) to designate a virtual geographic boundary. The system is triggered in real time when customers enter or leave the ‘fence.’ This allows marketers to send alerts or notifications to encourage consumer engagement.

How to Use Geofencing

Geofencing allows you to engage with customers in powerful ways. When customers enter or leave the virtual fence, you can send very specific content to help them take a certain action. For example, you can set a fence for 2 miles from your store. If a customer enters the fence, they get an alert about a special deal or event happening at that moment. You can also set up a geofence around a competitor’s business, triggering a notification when your customers visit competitors with a compelling offer that could inspire them to visit you instead. Geofencing could also offer helpful insights by showing how often customers are in your fence, or whether they are inspired to visit your store when offered certain incentives.

3. Geofilters

What are Geofilters?

Geofilters are location-based screens that can be used on social media, and are only accessible when users are in a specific location.

How to Use Geofilters

Geofilters are a fun and unique way to connect with consumers. They are also a great way to have consumers promote your brand for you. You can create a filter consumers can use when they visit you. Alternately, you can allow users to personalize geofilters in your designated space and encourage them to share it on social media. You can even set up a geofilter in or near a competitor’s location to drive customer interest back to you.

Use Location Intelligence in Your Digital Marketing Strategies!

Geotargeting, geofencing, and geofilters are all powerful ways for digital marketers to better understand consumer behaviour. These tools offer location-based insights that help marketers refine messaging, and to develop streamlined customer experiences.

DMTI’s CanMap Address Data and Location Hub Visualization & Web Services deliver the tools can be used to support digital marketing strategies. DMTI is continually updating and cleansing data to deliver accurate and reliable location information.  Marketing teams using DMTI’s unparalleled location data consistently outpace their competition. When using any location tools to market your product or service, DMTI offers the most complete and accurate Canadian data and software services.

Click here to contact a DMTI specialist, and get information on how you can leverage location intelligence to optimize digital marketing campaigns.

Additional Reading:

5 Creative Ways Marketers Can Use Geofencing

 

Leverage Location Insight geofencing

5 Creative Ways Marketers Can Use Geofencing

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Location-based marketing is clearly on an upswing, with more and more marketers leveraging location intelligence to support marketing initiatives. Geofencing is a powerful way to locate and market to high value customers, boosting brand visibility and customer engagement.

What is Geofencing? Geofencing is the use of GPS, bluetooth or radio frequency (RFID) to designate a virtual geographic boundary around a specific area. The system is triggered in real time when people enter or leave the ‘fence,’ and can be used to communicate with people in the fence via text, email, or notification.

How Marketers Can Use Geofencing

Geofencing is the use of GPS, bluetooth or radio frequency (RFID) to designate a virtual geographic boundary around a specific area. The system is triggered in real time when people enter or leave the ‘fence,’ and can be used to communicate with people in the fence via text, email, or notification.

  1. Competitive Insights  

    You can conduct trade area analysis by placing geofences around competitors to reveal how often your customers visit them, and what sort of foot traffic they tend to get. Pair this with analysis of your competitor’s deals and incentives to learn how they drive traffic, and apply that knowledge to creating better offers for your customers.

  2. Incentivize Customers 

    Deliver limited time offers when customers enter your fence to incentivize them to visit your store. You could also offer an extra deal when you need to boost traffic in a part of your store that might be struggling to make sales. For example, use a push notification to alert of a deal in a low-traffic zone, encouraging customers to check it out. Bonus tip: Place a fence around a nearby competitor’s store and send an incentive for your store to draw them back to you.

  3. Collect Intelligence 

    Geofencing is a great way to gather information on your customers and get a better understanding of your customer base. You can get a sense of how often they visit, the most popular times, and what sort of deals incentivize them to come. You may even get a sense of who your most loyal customers are, and leverage that information by asking them to become a brand advocate or provide a testimonial.

  4. Target Like-minded Crowds 

    Do some research about where your target audience tends to hangout, and place a geofence around that area to target like-minded crowds. Send timely communication to let that crowd know what your company has to offer. For example, maybe you own a store that sells camping equipment. By placing a geofence around the parking lot of a hiking trail, you can target people who are likely interested in what you have to offer.

  5. Make it fun! 

    There are a lot of ways to get creative and use geofencing to engage your customers in fun ways. Create games or trivia that are triggered when customers enter your fence. Maybe winning a game provides them with an extra discount or bonus. Or consider creating geofilters that customers can use when they’re in your fence, and that can be easily shared on social media.

Geofencing can help you engage customers in powerful ways. Using the tactics above, you’ll be able to hypertarget customers with content that is very specific to their needs and consistently keep your company top of mind.

Learn more by downloading our Ultimate Guide to Using Location Based Insights for Omnichannel Marketing